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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Silicon India Magazine II

News

From humble cycle, he gives lessons in Queen's English

ByIANS

Saturday, 05 March 2011, 00:49 IST

Lucknow: He stands in front of his bicycle, which is equipped with a loudspeaker, a microphone, some posters and signboards. "I am sure you would not have come across such an innovative setup for English training," grins Aditya Kumar, a Lucknow resident.

The colourful contraption is for holding his English classes on wheels. Kumar travels to various localities of Lucknow, selects a cool, leafy spot - and the classes begin!

"The response I am receiving from the public is quite heartening," Aditya, 40, a post-graduate in English literature, told IANS.

"When people see me conducting classes, they ask me to come to their locality too. Every day I get 15-20 calls for starting the course," added Kumar, who has also been giving home tuitions in English for the last 15 years.

Just four months into this project, Aditya already boasts of 130-odd students, of all age groups.

"Children, youths and elders have enrolled themselves for learning English. You would be surprised to know that even some mediapersons and executives are my students," he said.

"Most of the people come to me with an urge to attain fluency in English. They say they can read and write in English but have difficulty in speaking. So my training programme primarily aims to enable people learn this art," he added.

So what prompted him to combine Queen's language with the common man's transport?

"The idea came to my mind while I was struggling to generate resources for opening an institute for English training.

"The entire set-up, you see, has been prepared at just 1,500. Moreover, I don't have to spend anything on the publicity of my course. It is done automatically when I pass through the localities," he said.

The contents of his course include oral grammar, public speaking and vocabulary, among others.

"You may ask what's the specialty of my training...One needs to experience it...Just hold this mike and start speaking in English on any topic...Forget about the beginners, I am sure several people fluent in the language would not be able to do it properly when they see people gathering around them and staring at them in curiosity," he said.

"There lies the problem. Several people who know the basic concepts of the language are not able to express themselves in front of an audience.

"It's primarily due to hesitation or stage fear. So the best part of my course is that it deals in countering that hesitation, which in turn develops self-confidence in you...Believe me, if you have the self-confidence, half the battle is won," he added.

His one-month course is absolutely free, and he charges a meagre amount of 25 for each of the nine sets of notes prepared by him on English fluency.

"I love his concept. I am sure his concept would be adopted by several other English training institutes of the city. I have been attending the classes for the last 15 days and, believe me, sir (Kumar) has done a lot to overcome my hesitation," Zafar Ahmad, a B.Sc student, told IANS.

Vikas Chaudhary, a student of KKV Degree College, said: "I am preparing for bank exams. So my objective behind joining this course is to prepare for interviews. I also get personality development tips from Kumar sir."

Reader's comments (5)

1: Congratulations Aditya Kumar. If one literate person educates 5 people in his leisure time, then the whole country will become literate in 5 years.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 06 Mar, 2011

Government needs to do more to promote innovation

ByIANS

Monday, 28 February 2011, 09:21 IST

New Delhi: Contending that innovation is the only way to sustain India's growth, the National Innovation Foundation says the government is not doing enough to promote innovations in local creativity, especially in underdeveloped areas.

"We have realized a considerable degree of neglect and indifference by the state as well as market forces for unleashing the local creativity and innovation. Generally, the state's response has been lukewarm towards supporting local initiatives in underdeveloped areas like Champaran, Bastar, Cherrapunji and Arku Valley," says Prof Anil Gupta, Vice Chairman, National Innovation Foundation (NIF).

"In some of the regions, the police, untrained as it is, to deal with civil society and its heterogeneity, paints the local communities with the same colour. The articulate local youth is seldom allowed to take leadership against the apathy and indifference of the institutions.

Reader's comments (1)

Yes. I agree. Innovation, Invention and Creativity are the pillars of any society. Why countries like US, Germany, South Korea and for that matter China are advancing, because of innovations in every field.

In India recently an Innovation Fund of about 1000 Crores has been set up. Already there are National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Techno Entrepreneur Propgramme (TePP)of DSIR,National Innovation Foundation(NIF) are working to promote INNOVATIONS and INVENTORS. These are piecemeal in a vast country like ours.

Innovative mind does not require higher education or training. There are geniuses everywhere. We have to identify them and nurture them. Often it is difficult to identify the right problem then the solution will automatically follow.

I have a novel plan:

The Government(Central) ,along with Industrialists and private corporate giants like TATAs,Birlas,Mahindra,,Infosys etc., can create a INNOVATIVE FUND. They can form a secretariat of experts in different fields, NGOs,Scientists & Technologists etc.,. An advertisement can be given in Newspapers, Electronic Media asking people to suggest the problems they face. Huge number of problems will be received from people. These can be shortlisted subject wise and (about 50 to start with) can be identified and readvertised for solutions. The solutions received can be evaluated scrupulously for their innovative nature and the best solutions can be given awards. The award should be of the value of Rs 1 Crore. To catch a fish the bait should bite attractive enough.

Is not Amitabh Bachan condiucted Kaun Banega Crorepatia roaring success? This programme set in motion a thought process among millions of people.

Our Centre has been involved in the DESIGN, DEMONSTRATION and DISSEMINATION of Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology Gadgets. We have not taken any patents and are willing to share our experience and expertise in promoting our Innovative Devices.

Bangalore: It is an undisputable fact that computers are getting faster day-by-day and so it is so obvious that they will reach to a point which is comparable to human intelligence. And with all such powers or the artificial intelligence, they can create the consciousness which can emulate whatever the human brain does and can manage drive, write books, take ethical decisions, etc.

IBM's super computer Watson, named after its founder Thomas J. Watson, has won the IBM Jeopardy Challenge defeating Jeopardy champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter which represents a milestone in the development of artificial intelligence. The supercomputer is one of the most advanced systems on earth and was programmed by 25 IBM scientists over the last four years. The creators scanned some 200 million pages of content that is equivalent of about one million books into the system. The system is powered by 10 racks of IBM POWER 750 servers running Linux, and uses 15 terabytes of RAM, 2,880 processor cores and can operate at 80 teraflops, which is about 80 trillion operations per second.

There is no reason that computers will cease to get more powerful. They will keep growing until they are far more intelligent than the humans. Their rate of development and growth is much faster than that of ours.

As these people predict, in such a scenario, we will have to share the planet with this smarter than human intelligence things and we cannot predict their behaviors now. The one possibility is that we might merge with them to become super-intelligent cyborgs or maybe we'll scan our consciousnesses into computers and live inside them as software, forever, virtually.

There is a lot of attention drawn towards the concept of singularity now a days. Singularity University that is hosted by NASA and Google being a founding sponsor offers many inter-disciplinary courses on this and Google's former CEO and Co-Founder Larry Page had spoken there last year.

Prominent writers like Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil propagate singularity where with the technological creation of super-intelligence, world would be unpredictable to humans due to an inability of human beings to imagine the intentions or capabilities of super-intelligent entities. According to Kurzweil, by the mid-2020s the human brain will be successfully reverse-engineered and computers will be capable of human-level intelligence by the end of that decade. And thus he firmly says that the end of human civilization is not beyond 2045, which is just 35 years away.

The argument is very strong and there are many buyers for this idea now. They think that the tussle between God and science will come to an end when man reaches the state of singularity which will allow them to be effectively immortal, which is of course not to be complicated with religious immortality.

“Hinting at the important fact that the quest for excellence has often been something only for a few, Beyond Therapy discusses superior performance using the paradigm of sports. The choice of sports proves fruitful for three reasons. First, there is a uniquely broad and public appreciation for excellence in sports, which opens the door to considering the appeal of excellence even among those who do not seek it themselves in a given practice. Second, the activities we admire in sports are not all done best by humans—cheetahs run faster, pitching machines throw harder—which invites consideration of the meaning of specifically human excellence. Third, sporting activities are defined by powerful conventions, both legal and ethical, of fair and unfair competition when it comes to performance enhancement. To think seriously about sports, therefore, is to think about some of the most admired and worthy human qualities, along with what might compromise or complicate those qualities.

Beyond sports, the report aims to make sense of what new enhancement technologies will mean for the myriad activities of life—work, art, warfare, education. And while many drug-based and genetic-based routes to enhancement may have therapeutic antecedents, there is no lack of research directed explicitly at the enhancement of normal abilities.

Consider, for example, some of the projects funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a Pentagon group tasked with supporting research at the cutting edge. A sampling of current work suggests just how far we hope to go in making men and women into more efficient machines. As DARPA explains: “Human Assisted Neural Devices” would “noninvasively access codes in the brain in real time and integrate them into peripheral device or system operations,” allowing human beings to operate devices in the same manner that we move our limbs, by willing their actions. “Preventing Sleep Deprivation” in soldiers would eliminate “the need for sleep during an operation...nominally set at seven days.” “Exoskeletons for Human Performance Augmentation” would produce “self-powered, controlled, and wearable exoskeletal devices and/or machines” to “increase the speed, strength, and endurance of soldiers in combat environments.”

Such enhancements have extraordinary implications. Particularly revealing are the cases that illustrate how the line between person and equipment may be eroding. Speaking of direct brain/machine interface (BMI) of the sort sought by “Human Assisted Neural Devices,” Miguel A.L. Nicolelis of Duke University and Mandayam A. Srinivasan of M.I.T. speculate:

Given the significant degree of plasticity documented even in the adult brain, repeated use of BMIs will likely transform the brain itself, perhaps more rapidly and extensively than what is currently possible with traditional forms of learning. For example, if a robot located locally or remotely is repeatedly activated via a BMI, it is likely that cortical areas specifically devoted to representing the robot will emerge, causing the robot to effectively become an extra limb of the user.

If true, this suggests that a human being so enhanced—say, by adding the ability to operate a remote crane—would experience the disconnection of the remote machine as an amputation. The lack of enhancement would be experienced as a defect. Little wonder that Nicolelis and Srinivasan acknowledge that “the full extent to which BMIs would impact human behavior is vastly unknown.”

Worries about unequal access to enhancement technologies often ignore the fact that our natural capacities are unequal by nature. And a narrow focus on distributive justice masks an even deeper question: How much is our admiration of excellence based on appreciation of effort, and how much on the achievement of a result that is in some way absolutely best?

Coercion would most likely arise in America from competitive social and economic pressures—a problem we see already in the use of steroids among professional athletes. But it is also true, as the authors of Beyond Therapy point out, that any quest to be the best will be “constraining and pressure-filled by nature.” By seeing all coercion as misplaced, we might fail to distinguish between defensible and indefensible pressures, or between progress and corruption in a given human activity.

The possibility of harmful side effects from enhancement technologies will always be worrisome. But the deeper dilemma is not simply the regulatory question of what is “safe” but more fundamental questions about the proper shape of a human life. Some danger, after all, is central to noble activity. The pursuit of excellence in one area of life will inevitably create distortions in others. The question is how far such distortions can go before the quest for excellence becomes destructive of the very humanity of the one undertaking it”.

Dr.A.JagadeeshNellore(AP).

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 23 Feb, 2011

Trade between India-S Korea to double in next 5 yrs

ByPTI

Wednesday, 23 February 2011, 09:17 IST

New Delhi: The country's trade with South Korea is expected to double in the next five years, helped by the bilateral comprehensive free trade agreement, the government said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who met South Korean Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Park Young June, said that the bilateral trade has gathered momentum during the last few years.

During 2009-10, bilateral trade was USD 11.99 billion and "hoped the bilateral trade to further rise and double in the next five years," Sharma said in a statement.

After India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) came into force in January last year, the two-way commerce has increased by over 40 per cent as compared to the previous year, Sharma said.

Reader's comments (1)

1: South Korea is an advanced economy and as such bilateral trade between India and South Korea is in for great expansion.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 23 Feb, 2011

Green India Mission gets approved by PM Council

BySiliconIndia

Thursday, 24 February 2011, 12:15 Hrs

Bangalore: The Green India Mission has got the approval of the Prime Minister's Council. One of the eight missions including the National Action Plan on Climate Change targets five million hectare improvement in forest and tree cover. It also targets adding another five million hectare to the existing forest cover.

The Green India Mission will involve an investment of 46,000 crore over 10 years. In the meeting of the ministry of environment and forests and the council on Tuesday, the immediate creation of core mission team has also got approved. Apart from that, an additional allocation of 300 crore in the year 2011-12 for preparatory phase also gets the approval.

Some of the issues that the mission calls for are for improved ecosystem services including biodiversity, hydrological services and carbon sequestration, increased forest-based livelihood income for 3 million forest dependent households and enhanced annual CO2 sequestration of 50-60 million tonnes by the year 2020.

There are ten bio-geographic zones and four global biodiversity hotspots in India. The total forest and tree cover of the country is estimated at 23.39 percent of the geographic area, of which forest cover accounts for 21.02 percent. India accounts for 7-8 percent of the recorded plant and animal species of the world, with only 2.4 percent of world's land area.

Bangalore: It is a noble idea to have a free space where you can write and air your thoughts and opinions. Blogging has thus established a very strong hold on the internet and has captured the public heart. It needs very little startup capital and effort. While all these are true, it should be noted that not many bloggers are able to keep their blog alive because it's really hard to establish a significant presence in the blogosphere. Many quit blogging due to frustration of not getting enough traffic and due to lack of original content to write on. Here are some of the main reasons why most blogs fail.

1. Discouraged for lack of results and monetization

Looking at other bloggers with heavy traffic and significant profitability, many new entrants into the blogging world get discouraged and quit. It is wrong to focus on heavy traffic and big money at the begining. Instead, a new blogger should focus on the right methods and strategies to make his blog a successful one and the results will follow.

2. Lack of constant posting schedule and maintenance

Blogging is not for the people with shortened attention span who get bored quickly. Regularly updated content is the hallmark of a good blog.

Constant updation with right information, opinions and events on the topic is a must to keep the blog alive because the visitors always look forward for new and interesting articles.

3.Self promotion

Too much of self promotion will eventually kill the blog.

Bloggers should use their discretion when shearing their personal information on the web. It's not your online persona, but the content is what matters the most for the readers. However, it's also important that you convey the message that the blog is not

an unemotional one and that you write it with human emotions with a personal touch.

4.Diverting from the topic, trying to cover everything on earth

Your blog should have a clear view point. Before starting the blog, you should figure what is your niche and should focus on that. You will loose you audience if you start talking about everything on earth. You should specialize on your topic and own your niche. It is also good to branch out of your niche sometimes and read other blogs to gain knowledge about various other topics.

5.Lack of fresh content, copy-cat blogs

To keep you blog alive, fresh and original contents need to be posted constantly. It is where the importance of research and wide reading comes to play. You have to dedicate your time to read and research on your topic so that you can write creative and interesting articles on your topic. Copying other bloggers' content and republishing their works as it is, will make your blog die down in a short period.

6.Negative feedback, low morale and loss of confidence

Criticisms should be faced with courage and should not get upset about it. A good blogger learns from the positive criticisms. You should not let yourself down to the negative feedbacks, neither allow your morale and confidence to go down. You should not change your views to the harsh criticism unless you are totally convinced.

Reader's comments (2)

1: Yes. I agree with most of your advice.

The first thing one should learn is to keep the blog update. I saw several WEB Sites mostly of Government presenting outdated information. This will shatter the credibility of the site.

I update my blog every third day.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 25 Feb, 2011

Now robots become chefs in Chinese restaurant

ByIANS

Saturday, 19 February 2011, 05:38 IST

Shanghai: Visitors to a fast-food restaurant in Shanghai may be pleasantly surprised when they are served food cooked by two robot chefs.

The robot chefs at the Wishdoing restaurant on Shanghai's Nanjing Road can cook delicious Chinese cuisine within three minutes. They can serve customers eight popular dishes, including "crowd-puller dishes" like Kung Pao chicken, spicy diced chicken with peanuts and Mapo Tofu, bean curd with chilli sauce.

The workers only have to press buttons on the robots to choose a dish and they will display the name of the ingredients and their quantities, the Shanghai Daily reported.

In appearance, the robots look like huge kitchen surfaces equipped with iron pots.

It only takes three minutes for a robot to clean the pot from a previous meal, stir the ingredients, finish cooking and then move the food onto a plate for serving.

Although the robots cost 200,000 yuan ($30,350) each, the fast food chain is planning to install them in all of its 100 outlets across the country, said an official surnamed Ma, working with the restaurant's parent company, Shanghai Qi Ding Food Development Co.

The robots were earlier displayed at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 and attracted a lot of attention, Ma said.

"We believe the cooking robots will become a trend in the future for the fast food industry as they guarantee low-carbon emission, food safety and standard tastes that don't change from one outlet to another."

The coming of the robots has, however, raised concerns among some chefs, who are worried they could lose the jobs.

But Ma said the concern was totally unnecessary.

"The robot chefs will be one part of the restaurant, but it doesn't mean that we would abandon traditional cooking methods."

Reader's comments (1)

1:Too much mechanisation will make humans loose their identity. Cooking and serving is a human activity with fineness. We need to attach humanness to certain activities. Already we are loosing some of our skills. As Darwin put it, WE LOOSE WHAT WE DON'T USE.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)

Bangalore:Cricket is the most religiously followed sports in India, and when its Cricket World Cup (Father of all cricket tournaments) there is no stop for the cricket fans including employees of the corporate houses. Cricket World up is knocking on the door and organizational heads are concerned about the impact it might have on the productivity of the company.

Cricket World Cup, 2011 starting from February 19 and co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will have a flip side for corporate productivity. Corporate houses of India may register a significant drop in productivity during the month of February-March as one in five employees would like to take time off to watch their favourite matches.

No matter you own a television set at home or not, you are never away from the scores of the live matches. People walking on streets don't mind peeping into any shop having TV just to have a glance of current score. Cricket is a religion to people of India. They are extremely attached with the sports. People in big sophisticated organizations sometimes forget about sophistication and express their emotions whenever their favourite player hits boundaries or score century or half century. Emotions forget boundaries if their favourite team wins and excitement gets doubled if the win is against the team they hate the most.

At least 10-12 million people will watch the match and result in a productivity loss of 768 million man hours, according to the survey conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India. Presence of teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, England and South Africa will most definitely draw away the interest of employees from their work. 20 percent of the respondents say that they will take some days off from the work to watch matches of their favourite teams without any disturbance. Around 50 percent hold the opinion of working for shorter days. Interestingly, rest of them have planned to utilize their annual paid leaves during the time or just simply call up and say they are sick.

Productivity will get affected further as most of the games are slated to be played during office hours. "Definitely there would be an impact on the productivity side as we can't ask our employees to keep themselves away from watching matches. We are expecting many sick leaves coming from Feb 19 onwards." Says Navin Shah, VP, reputed Investment Bank. Majority of the managerial level employers are of the opinion that it's the greatest event and employees should be given a chance to enjoy it because it doesn't carry any violence or politics. Some CEOs are of the opinion that it's a personal choice of any individual but their enjoyment should not come at the expense of the organization.

Around 35 percent employees say that their employers are providing a place to watch matches at their workplace. "Our company is basically work driven, rather than time driven. Employees are responsive enough to set their priorities. They just need to submit their projects according to the deadline. We provide them with LCD screens at strategic distance like cafeteria," says Arun Choudhary, Principal Software Engineer, MNC. 85 percent employees have shown keen interest in the World Cup. Post match absenteeism can also be there as fans stay up late nights and try to get sufficient sleep.

Companies should take suitable measures to minimize the affect of absenteeism and try to accommodate employees according to the preferences of watching matches. Providing an access to watch selected matches from office may improve the attendance of the employees as match will get finished in few hours and they can work for rest of the day. "Company should take some measures for their employees to entertain themselves along with the work at least during Cricket World Cup which they have been waiting for four years," says, Anant Suri, Software Engineer from leading Software Company.

Reader's comments (2)

1: Definitely. Unfortunately most of the Cricket matches are fixed during the months when the students are having their examinations. Nowhere in the world so much time is wasted while watching the game on TV besides long discussions afterwards. I saw in Europe during Football Matches the country where they are played going crazy but only for few hours.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

"In order to evolve a suitable mechanism for direct subsidies to individuals and families who are entitled to kerosene, LPG and fertilizer ... the government of India has constituted a task force," the finance ministry said in a release.

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Nilekani is also handling several government IT projects including one on the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The government has constituted the task force in light of the "overwhelming evidence" that the present policy of giving subsidy on kerosene is resulting in "waste, leakage, adulteration and inefficiency", the statement said.

Government provides Kerosene at subsidized prices to below poverty line (BPL) families under the Public Distribution System (PDS).

"Therefore, it is imperative that the system of delivering the subsidized kerosene be reformed urgently," it added.

Similarly, the statement said that the system of provision and delivery of subsidized LPG to intended beneficiaries needs to be reformed.

Fertilizer is given to farmers at subsidized rates.

"It is not possible to differentiate the segments for which the subsidy should be given in this (fertilizer) sector. There is a need to evolve a suitable mechanism for direct subsidies to individuals who are entitled to them," it said.

The task force would submit its interim report within four months of its constitution.

The recommendations of the report would be implemented on a pilot basis by the concerned ministries under the supervision of the task force in the following six months from the date of submission of the interim report, it added.

Besides, the task force would evolve a model of direct transfer of subsidies on these items by re-engineering existing systems, processes and procedures in the implementation process.

The panel has also been asked to design appropriate IT systems and aligning these (the issue of subsidies) with the issuance of UID numbers, and bringing about changes in the administration and supply chain management.

Besides UIDAI chairman, the team will consist of secretaries from finance, chemicals and fertilizers, agriculture, food and public distribution, petroleum and natural Gas and rural development along with director general of UID authority.

Reader's comments (4)

1: The moment you talk of subsidy, black market comes in to picture. Kerosene, gas etc., are subsidised. Many Hotels purchase gas cylinders from Individuals for higher price. Also LPG cylinders are fixed to gas operated cars.

To avoid black market and scarcity LEVELISED COST is the answer.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 15 Feb, 2011

Obama sets sights on India, China to revive U.S. economy

ByIANS

Tuesday, 15 February 2011, 22:39 IST

Washington: U.S. President Barack Obama's budget aimed at rebuilding the country's economy, emerging "from the worst recession in generations", looks at India as "one of the most important and promising emerging markets in the world".

Obama's proposed $3.7 trillion spending plan for 2011 hopes to "win the future by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building our global competitors and creating the jobs and industries of tomorrow", according to the White House.

"India is one of the most important and promising emerging markets in the world, and represents a tremendous opportunity for US firms to expand their output of goods and services," the budget proposal presented Monday said.

"On the margins of the president's trip to India in November, trade transactions were announced or showcased exceeding $14.9 billion in total value with $9.5 billion in US export content and that would support an estimated 53,670 jobs," the White House noted.

These cross border collaborations, both public and private, underpin the expanding US-India strategic partnership, contributing to economic growth and development in both countries, it said.

Notable examples include the sale of commercial and military aircraft, gas and steam turbines and precision measurements instrumentation.

The budget proposals said the emergence of a global market place that includes the growing economies of China, India and other developing counties creates an opportunity for America to export US goods and services to new customers.

"With 95 percent of the world's customers as well as the globe's fastest growing markets beyond our borders, we must compete aggressively to spur economic growth and job creation," the budget said.

Obama's third annual budget says that it can reduce projected deficits by $1.1 trillion over the next decade, enough to stabilise the nation's fiscal health and buy time to address its longer-term problems, the New York Times said citing a senior administration official.

Two-thirds of the reductions that Obama claims are from cuts in spending, including in many domestic programmes that he supports.

Among the reductions for just the next fiscal year, 2012, which starts Oct 1, are more than $1 billion from airport grants and nearly $1 billion from grants to states for water treatment plants and similar projects. Public health and forestry programmes would also be cut.

With Republicans in charge of the House, Obama's budget is more a statement of his priorities and philosophy than an actual template for federal spending and tax policy, the Times noted.

Reader's comments (1)

1: It is a recognition for growing Economies of India and China. If BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) join together economically, they will be major economic countries in the world.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP), India

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 16 Feb, 2011

Skill development for 500 million Indians: A mantra for action

ByIANS

Monday, 14 February 2011, 06:45 IST

Bangalore: The number of references to skill development in the government lexicon has soared over the years. With each budget presented by the UPA government, the number of initiatives to skill India has gone up. Starting with allocation of funds for reviving Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics and upgrading the Regional Engineering Colleges to IITs to setting up a National Skills Development Corporation two years ago, skill development has become a priority like never before.

The appointment of former TCS chief S. Ramdorai as the advisor to the Prime Minister on skill development last week is a clear indication that the government wants to leave no stone unturned to skill 500 million Indians by 2022. The objective of training two out of every five Indians is timely and commendable.

The government's ambitious target of imparting skills to 500 million Indians, as a first step, only tries to quantify the task and points to the fact that it will engage with the private sector to achieve the target. While the task of making this a public-private partnership is huge, bigger challenges will surface when the range of skills to be imparted and employability of this skilled workforce is addressed.

While skill training in general covers a range of hard core skills deployed in manufacturing and technical areas, the role of the services sector that fuels nearly 65 percent of the Indian economy is central to any plan to impart skills in India. We also need to pepper the workforce with a variety of soft skills that can bring bigger benefits to the Indian economy. The services sector will also need added dimension of customer care, on time performance and zero service default levels, to be more globally competent.

While it is a moot point that the government's main purpose is to enhance employability, it is imperative that it also prepares them to perform the job efficiently, predictably and up to international standards.

Employability must also prepare Indians to have skills for jobs that are closer to their place of residence to avoid the strains of mobility on the already stretched urban infrastructure. The government must make it abundantly clear, while offering opportunities to Indians to achieve skills, that the task of finding jobs will be their own. In fact, adding this newly skillful talent to the existing entrepreneurial system would help to create employment opportunities for their community.

Before India embarks on this big skill imparting programme through ITIs, polytechnics and the host of specialized institutes set up in partnership with a host of private institutions, it must sit back and reflect as to why did the ITIs, polytechnics and engineering schools set up in the 1950s and 60s fail to live up to their promise? Why did the ITIs and polytechnics degenerate at such a rapid pace? The rate of change of curriculum and adaption to the changing needs would bring dynamism to this programme. Use of instructional design and technology would make replication easier as well as make the entire process far more scalable.

Are skills alone the panacea for all ills? The answer lies in checking around one's home and work environment. Does the best plumber and electrician in your neighbourhood live up to his time commitment? Can the ATM from the best bank promise to deliver cash at all times? Does your radio taxi driver carry a map to guide you to your destination in the city? There are good chances that the answer to all the three questions is a No.

So, along with imparting skills to the workforce the right attitude to ensure high level of customer orientation that transcends the typical 'Chalta Hai' Indian attitude needs to be imbibed. Any certification for skills must also add the service orientation dimension. The industry body CII has done enough work to engage its members with the academia, skill developers as well as industry that needs to permeate to the smallest village.

Reader's comments (1)

Yes. There is a dire necessity of Skilled workers in India.TCS chief S. Ramdorai as the advisor to the Prime Minister on skill development will draw a blue print on this. Here are few suggestions as outlined in the note:

Vocational educational in IndiaThe aim of vocational educational in India is to develop skilled manpower through diversified courses to meet the requirements of mainly the unorganised sector and to instill selfemployment skills in people through a largenumber of self employment oriented courses. In India vocational education is imparted through Industrial Training Institutesit isand polytechnics.

Demand for skilled menIn India every year6 50 000 engineering graduates and approximately two million graduates pass out of colleges. Nearly two thirds of the 6 50 000 engineering graduates need to be re skilledso that they can get jobs in the industry. Meanwhilethe developed world requires knowledge workers and skilled professionals. By 2020the developed world will have a shortage of 40 million working people, says a report. A recent study by global HR consultancy Manpower Inc says that 41 per cent of employers worldwide are having difficulty filling positions due to lack of suitable talent in their markets. Manpower shortages can cripple economic growth. It can escalate wage ratesthereby reducing the competitiveness of these countries.

According to a survey72 per cent of our population is under the age of 35 and it is estimated that 300 million people between the ages of 18 and 50 seek employment of some form. While 57 per cent are unemployable46 million are registered with employment exchanges with little hope of finding a suitable job. But there is a mismatch between the skilled manpower required and skilled manpower available and there is huge shortage of skilled talent. A majority of the youth passing out from our universities and colleges do not have the specific skill sets required by various sectors in the market. Vocational education is surely going to be an enabler to help India shine in the unorganised sector.

Advantage IndiaImparting vocational education and training would benefit all and also have the following advantages.

1. Prepare the youth for a vocation of their choice2. Build up a formidable work force of international qualitywhich would be in demand not only in India but also in all other countries. In Indiaonly IT training is world class. In the manufacturing and service sectorthere are hundreds of skills and vocations for which there is worldwide shortage.3 We need millions of trained people in agriculturefloriculture horticulturesericulturefisheryhealthcaretourism and in the manufacturing sector.4. Reduce unemployment by supplying world class skilled people.5. Reduce cost and improve the productivity of services and manufacturing by providing skilled manpower to international standards.

Bangalore: It requires having a child like simplicity to fantasize and believe that there is something called as a flying car but in this era of innovation boom,it is being claimed to be turned into a reality by an Indian inventor.

It is not just a solution to traffic problems which has gone disastrous in many cities; an airborne version of the converted hatchback seems like just a few steps away to be achieved.

Another point to wonder is the car model chosen to create this extreme innovation. It is no Mercedes, Corolla, or any of those big cars, but, is just the oldest and most ordinary 800cc Maruti car. The car has rotor blades affixed to the roof with extended wheel arches that create a 'vacuum section.' It attracted a huge audience to witness this innovation at the Aero India 2011 air show in Bangalore.

The proud inventor is A.K. Vishwanath who turned his dream into a reality by making use of India's first small car, which was built in the 1980s by Suzuki. Extremely hard-worked 16 years have been spent of the 52-year-old in making the 'flying Maruti' that claims to have a vertical lift-off and he has also tested a scale version tested in a wind tunnel.

By now, 40 copyrights have been acquired by him although the other engineers are still working on the project. When questioned what inspired him to make the wonderful car, he just answered saying his inspiration came from many sources, including the flying ability of bees. The car is powered initially by an electrical generator, after which its engine pumps out so-called 'energy flows' which provide lift-off and cruising.

The car was developed by Vishwanath's company, B'Lorean, which is also the name of his house in Bangalore and the winged DeLorean sports car of the 1980s.

He says he has been approached by several firms willing to fund the development of the car although the car by now has not flown, but told reporters: 'Business talk can begin, but only once the necessary paperwork is out of the way.'

Flying cars are not a new invention, with some having been tested even in the 1930s. More recent versions include the Terrafugia Transition, made by a company founded by U.S. university graduates, with a flying range of around 400 kilometres.

Reader's comments (7)

No doubt yet another Non-Workable idea! With lakhs of cars on the road which according to the inventor will fly in future, there will be more deaths due to hitting of electric poles, communication towers, flyovers.One should learn from China and Japan. Bicycle is the best non-polluting vehicle. In China there are separate lanes for bicycles. There are millions of bicycles in Beijing alone.

Some times fancy ideas can be misleading. For example there is enormous energy that can be tapped from Lightening. How to know when lightening occurs and how to generate and store the energy. Innovation should be of UTILITY but not UTOPIAN.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 14 Feb, 2011

Research must focus on sustainability: Experts

ByIANS

Monday, 14 February 2011, 07:13 IST

Agartala: Very little money is spent on research on the sustainable use of natural resources compared to what is spent on studies for their exploitation, experts said here Sunday, adding that identification of research priorities is the key to long-term development.

"Worldwide, about 6,000 times more expenditure is made on research and development for the exploitation of natural resources than the costs made on sustainable development of resources," B.K Agarwala, pro vice chancellor of Tripura (Central) University, said.

He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here.

"Natural resources are now depleting at a faster rate and new kinds of environmental threats are looming large," he added.

The two-day seminar on "identification of research priorities in Tripura", which began Sunday, was organised to promote research on relevant issues to achieve inclusive growth in Tripura and to pursue the challenges faced in varied fields of research.

According to Agarwala, rubber plantations have substantially altered the landscape of Tripura for economic considerations.

"Organic farming is far less practiced than the use of inorganic fertilisers and pesticides for high yielding hybrid varieties," he noted.

Arunoday Saha, vice-chancellor of Tripura (Central) University, said: "Funding for research in India and abroad are not at all a problem now. What is vital is the choice of appropriate issues for research."

"Though necessity is the mother of research, there are instances of malpractice and duplications in many research works," said Saha, a renowned economist.

Academician Subhas Chandra Saha told the seminar that research in higher education along with other basic sectors is a must.

"Research works should be properly targeted and study priorities must be identified," said Saha, who is also the director of the School of Management Sciences under Bengal Engineering and Science University in Shibpur in West Bengal.

IGNOU's regional director Kiran Shankar Chakraborty said that identification of research areas and focusing them on priority basis are important tasks of academic institutions actively involved in research.

According to K.N. Jena, an associate professor at Tripura (Central) University, a total of 74 research papers on a wide range of subjects were submitted in the two-day seminar and 43 of them were accepted for presentation.

Reader's comments (1)

1: I agree with the views of the experts.

Some research activities start from this definition to argue that the environment is a combination of nature and culture. The Network of Excellence Sustainable Development in a Diverse World sponsored by the European Union integrates multidisciplinary capacities and interprets cultural diversity as a key element of a new strategy for sustainable development.Still other researchers view environmental and social challenges as opportunities for development action. This is particularly true in the concept of sustainable enterprise that frames these global needs as opportunities for private enterprise to provide innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. This view is now being taught at many business schools including the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University and the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan.The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development lists the following areas as coming within the scope of sustainable development:Sustainable development is an eclectic concept as a wide array of views fall under its umbrella. The concept has included notions of weak sustainability strong sustainability and deep ecology. Different conceptions also reveal a strong tension between ecocentrism and anthropocentrism. Many definitions and images Visualizing Sustainability of sustainable development coexist. Broadly defined the sustainable development mantra enjoins current generations to take a systems approach to growth and development and to manage natural, produced, and social capital for the welfare of their own and future generations.During the last ten years different organizations have tried to measure and monitor the proximity to what they consider sustainability by implementing what has been called sustainability metrics and indices.Sustainable development is said to set limits on the developing world. While current first world countries polluted significantly during their development, the same countries encourage third world countries to reduce pollution which sometimes impedes growth. Some consider that the implementation of sustainable development would mean a reversion to pre modern lifestyles (Source: Wikipedia).

There are vast areas of wasteland. In these areas multiple uses of plants which thrive with less water can be grown,something like LEAF TO ROOT approach. There are plants like Agave Americana Sisal Agave ,Annona Squamosa Custard Apple. The fibre in the agave ican be used for rope making,clothes under trade name DIP DRY are made in Philippines,the plant leaves have cellulose and can be used in Biofuel preparation. There is a steroid HECOGENEN which can be prepared from Agave.

The custard apple fruit has many seeds which yield 30 percent oil and the oil is toxic and can be used as natural pesticide like neem oil. The oil in general is used as base in paints and varvishes. The pulp in the fruit is rich in Vitamin C and soft drinks can be made and can be used as dressing on Ice Creams. The residue after extraction of oil from the seed can be used as natural manure. The epicarp of the fruit can be used as green manure. Since the leaves are bitter cattle wont eat them.Government waste land can be allotted to youth about 10 acres each) and 50 Youth can form a YOUTH CO OPERATIVE or YOUTH ECONOMIC ZONE Just like SEZ. They can get loans from Scheduled Banks. To grow fast growing and multiple use plants. In Israel KIBBUTZ 0r COMMUNES are a success.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore AP.

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 14 Feb, 2011

Govt mulls sops to encourage hybrid car manufacturing

ByPTI

Monday, 14 February 2011, 08:04 IST

New Delhi:The government is working on a policy to encourage manufacturing of hybrid cars in India through excise duty concessions, to protect environment and reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuel.

The proposal will be piloted by Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel, an official said.

Besides, the fiscal sops like differential excise on the car, the policy is likely to incentivise research and development for development of the hybrid vehicle, he said.

"To encourage the production of these cars (hybrids), there is a need to upgrade the laboratory knowledge," he said.

The Department of Heavy Industry would also be seeking the Cabinet nod to form a high-level panel on the issue.

If approved, the panel is expected to come out with a clear-cut policy by September, the official said.

Reader's comments (3)

1: Hybrid cars are marching ahead in US and Europe. Developing countries can leapfrog in adopting Hybrid cars.

Plug-in hybrid electrical vehicle (PHEV)

Another subtype added to the hybrid market is the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). The PHEV is usually a general fuel-electric (parallel or serial) hybrid with increased energy storage capacity (usually Li-ion batteries). It may be connected to mains electricity supply at the end of the journey to avoid charging using the on-board internal combustion engine.

This concept is attractive to those seeking to minimize on-road emissions by avoiding – or at least minimizing – the use of ICE during daily driving. As with pure electric vehicles, the total emissions saving, for example in CO2 terms, is dependent upon the energy source of the electricity generating company.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 14 Feb, 2011

Do not make the already rich richer: Premji

BySiliconIndia

Thursday, 10 February 2011, 04:12 Hrs

Mumbai: It is better to bring up the people below poverty line which would add to the development of the nation rather than passing on the richness from generations to generations which would just make the rich richer. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji holds a strong take upon this subject matter and has thus, insisted the leaders of the Indian industry to share their wealth with the society."People who have had the fortune to accumulate wealth should give it back to the society rather than passing it on to subsequent generations," he said, while addressing the delegates at Nasscom Leadership Forum 2011.

The idea of wealth inheritance of the next generation of the family is totally irrelevant and intolerable according to him as it would not do any good to the nation but add to the never ending gap between haves and have-nots in the society. As he quotes Egypt as an example, he tries to explain to the industrialists the impact of widening income gap in the society which is the root cause of India remaining as a developing country.

Premji also stated that the idea of the rich handing out a part of their wealth so as to benefit the society is gaining extreme importance in USA, Europe and other parts of the world, including India. He also proved that he is not somebody who just talks and hardly acts by taking a pledge to transfer shares valued at $2 billion to his trust, Azim Premji Foundation, and use the dividends to improve education facilities in India.

The China, U.S. and European CEOs earlier had their eyes on India as an alternative to spread the geography risk. "Despite the problems we create for ourselves and the governance being in shambles, India was benefiting from this trend," he said. The companies had to accept globalization, hold a versatile set of employees, cut costs and design products for emerging markets due to the slow economic growth in the West. Premji also noted that the low cost healthcare products that were initially designed by GE for Indian market sought a market elsewhere. Although the customers of U.S. and Europe are known to be cost conscious, they were also included amongst the buyers list of healthcare products.

The freedom provided for movement of work forces across the national boundaries was mandatory to attain globalization and putting protectionist barriers would be counter-productive. Premji boldly made a statement that the U.S. would pay a price for what it is doing after he referred to the recent spate of protectionist measures initiated by U.S

Reader's comments (5)

1: I entirely agree with you Azim Premji.

Growth with Social Justice must be the motto of the Socialist and Democratic countries.

I am glad big Industrialists like you are turning towards the growth of those below the poverty line and the Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid advocated by late Dr.C.K.Prahalad.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP).

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 11 Feb, 2011

siliconIndia News

Tata rules out joining politics post retirement

ByPTI

Thursday, 10 February 2011, 22:14 Hrs

Kolkata: Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has said that power and wealth are not his two main stakes and ruled out joining politics after his retirement in 2012.

"I will certainly not join politics. I would like to be remembered as a clean businessman who has not partaken in any twists and turns beneath the surface, and one who has been reasonably successful," Tata said in an interview to Fortune India magazine.

"Power and wealth are not two of my main stakes," the chief of the $72,000 billion conglomerate said.

Talking about the leaking of tapes containing his conversation with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, Tata said, "It's difficult, but more than that, it's hurtful."

"In the U.S., the NSA and the FBI do not hand out those conversations so that a mayor talking to his mistress has his marital problems aired. That is like what you expect in some little republic," he said.

Earlier in November last year he had said that "top these sorts of banana republic kind of attacks on whoever one chooses to attack, even before the person has, what I consider, every Indian's right to be considered innocent, until found guilty in a court of law, not on the street, not in this way".

He later moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the government to probe the leakage of tapes containing his private conversations with Radia, and stop further publication of the same.

"What are we doing as a country? We are convicting people, alleging things, almost sentencing them before they're proven guilty, and without any proof - just on the basis of hearsay and phone conversations," Tata wondered in the Fortune interview.

"In my case, I am saying that people are authorised to have surveillance on certain people for national security or otherwise," he observed.

"If you have to prosecute, you prosecute. That is your business," he said.

Reader's comments (2)

1: I applaud your decision not to join politics. Politics of late has become a dirty game. Scams, huge corruption, nepotism etc., have bocme part and parcel of politics. Gone are the days when we had clean politicians like Dadabhai Nauroji,Balagangadhara Tilak,Lalbabhadur Sastry, Sardal Vallabhai patel,P.Sundarayya,Madhu Dandavate etc.,

The Country needs your services as an Industrialist to take the country to greater heights economically.

Long live Ratan Tataji.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP).

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 11 Feb, 2011

siliconIndia News

Gandhi's and King Jr's mantra for change in Egypt

ByPTI

Thursday, 10 February 2011, 10:05 Hrs

Washington: With U.S. President Barack Obama himself being a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, his Administration is pushing for change in Egypt -- experiencing political unrest for more than a fortnight now - through non-violent means.In every briefing, statement or communication ever since the hundreds and thousands of people came out on the street of Egypt demanding the resignation of their President Hosni Mubarak, Obama Administration has been religiously invoking the mantra of change through peace and non-violence; which was prime message of Mahatma Gandhi and King Jr."We have had three kind of clear messages throughout this situation in Egypt since the protests began. The first is that we wanted to see non-violence.

“Nonviolence (ahimsa) is a philosophy and strategy for social change that rejects the use of violence. Thus, nonviolence is an alternative to passive acceptance of oppression or of armed struggle against it. Nonviolence practitioners use diverse methods in their campaigns for social change, including critical forms of education and persuasion, civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action, and targeted communication via mass media.Green Party founder Petra Kelly, who founded the Green Party on Nonviolence, with congressman and famed attorney Otto Schily at press conference.In modern times, nonviolence is a powerful tool for social protest. There are many examples of its use in nonviolent resistance and nonviolent revolution, including Mahatma Gandhi leading a decades-long nonviolent struggle against British rule in India, which eventually helped India win its independence in 1947, Martin Luther King's adoption of Gandhi's nonviolent methods in the struggle to win civil rights for African Americans, and César Chávez's campaigns of nonviolence in the 1960s to protest the treatment of farm workers in California. The 1989 "Velvet Revolution" in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the Communist government is considered one of the most important of the largely nonviolent Revolutions of 1989. Most recently the nonviolent campaigns of Leymah Gbowee and the women of Liberia were able to achieve peace after a 14-year civil war. This story is captured in a 2008 documentary film Pray the Devil Back to Hell. In an essay, "To Abolish War," evolutionary biologist Judith Hand advocated for the use of nonviolent direct action to dismantle the global war machine.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 11 Feb, 2011

siliconIndiaNews

TCS speeds up hiring: No entrance, direct interview

Sunday, 06 February 2011, 18:24 Hrs

Mumbai: In a move to fast-track recruitment, IT firm TCS announced that fresh engineering graduates with a good academic record can directly appear for interviews , skipping the entrance test that other applicants have to take.

Engineering students that have consistently scored over 70 percent throughout their academic career can "leapfrog" directly to the interview stage, it said in a release here.

The system is being implemented from the current hiring season in which TCS plans to make offers to a total of 37,000 fresh graduates. It is being introduced as a pilot project and many pass-outs are already taking advantage of it, a TCS spokesperson said.

Based on the performance of fresh graduates hired earlier, the company has graded engineering colleges in the country and only students that fall in A, A+ and B category institutions can avail of the scheme, the release said.

"The written test is more to check your aptitude and we think the academic consistency takes care of it," the spokesperson said.

The company has already made offers to 23,500 graduates from 171 colleges in the current hiring season. Many of them that have a good academic record did not sit for the written test, the spokesperson added.

Reader's comments (41)

1: It is a good move. The Written test and HR Interview cannot be barometers to test the student's strength in analytical thinking and knowledge.

Many a times those with high academic record get rejected in HR and vice versa.

If academic excellence is not the criterion, all India entrance tests can be conducted with minimum marks as eligibility on the pattern of EAMCET in Andhra Pradesh.

The decision on academic excellence for direct recruitment to TCS avoiding Entrance test is most welcome.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 11 Feb, 2011

SiliconIndia News

Gandhi, Dalai Lama among world's top icons: Time

ByIANS

Monday, 07 February 2011, 06:56 IST

Dharamsala: Mahatma Gandhi and the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama were listed by Time magazine among the world's top 25 political icons.

Mohandas Gandhi, as the magazine called him, was credited with peaceful protests during the British Raj that helped him become the spiritual heart of the Indian independence struggle.

"Gandhi led the country in peaceful protest against foreign domination, exemplified by the 1930 Salt March in protest to a British salt tax. His rise paved the way for India's independence in 1947.

"Though the country was later divided (and Gandhi assassinated), his role in the bloodless revolution paved the way for other social movements including America's struggle for civil rights," it added.

The Dalai Lama, according to magazine, is "not only the greatest and most public advocate for Tibetan rights and the virtues of Tibetan Buddhism, but also for interfaith tolerance and peace as well to people around the world.

"To countless Tibetans, the Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader and a head of state in absentia. For decades - and from exile since 1959 - he has worked to resolve tensions between Tibet and China.

"And like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. before him, the Dalai Lama done so in a manner defined by non-violence and tolerance.

"The Dalai Lama's humility has endeared him to presidents and religious leaders of several countries, affording him the opportunity to raise awareness and drum up support for Tibet on a global scale," the magazine said.

The Dalai Lama, whom Beijing brands a separatist, fled into exile in 1959 and established his government-in-exile in Dharamsala.

Reader's comments (2)

1: Mahatma Gandhiji is the greatest human being ever lived. What else tributes one needs than the ones by Albert Einstein

Einstein on Gandhi ( Source: Google Search)

I believe that Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political men in our time.

We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 08 Feb, 2011

A smart house that alerts when residents fall ill

ByIANS

Friday, 04 February 2011, 17:32 Hrs

London: The prototype of an energy-efficient house has been programmed to send alerts if its residents fall ill. InterHome is the first in the UK which can monitor the health of its occupants, text residents if the house is being burgled, or the door has been left unlocked.

'We developed it further with elderly people in mind so that the house can send alerts if the person has a fall or a stroke,' said Johann Siau, senior lecturer at the University of Herfordshire's School of Engineering and Technology.

Researchers have developed a prototype which can be strapped to a person's wrist and is embedded with sensors which take readings of body temperature and pulse.

'This opens up a platform for us to add new types of technologies around assisted living,' said Siau, according to a statement from the university.

InterHome incorporates modular custom design units and draws on standard home automation systems which have been adapted so that the house 'learns' and 'adapts' to its users' lifestyles.

The prototype of the home, which has been developed in a doll's house, integrates embedded devices with home automation controllers, so that it provides convenience and security to the home owner and also enables them to reduce energy.

InterHome incorporates an intuitive touch screen user control panel that also allows the house to be monitored and controlled using web browsers, smart phones and any SMS-capable mobile phone.

Reader's comments (1)

1: Very good for elderly persons falling ill and also for physically disabled persons.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 04 Feb, 2011

Now NRIs can stand for elections: Is it justified?

BySuman Ravikumar, SiliconIndia

Friday, 04 February 2011, 03:37 Hrs

Bangalore: "I recognize the legitimate desire of Indians living abroad to exercise their franchise and to have a say in who governs India," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet in New Delhi last year. And in no time he has set the ball rolling. Addressing the longest standing demands of 11 million plus NRI community members, the government has agreed to allow NRIs to vote for elections in India. Not only voting rights, the NRIs can now also stand for elections, the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules, 2011 declares.

This decision by the government has brought in mixed emotions among the Indians in India and abroad. A large number of NRIs in the U.S., and Canada said that standing for elections would bring them closer to their motherland and help them get directly involved in its decision-making process. A majority of them were happy that they would play more roles, other than just sending money to their loved ones.

Back in India, most of them are of the opinion that NRIs don't hold any connection with their motherland and they moved out to explore the greener pastures across borders for their own good. In a way they let go of their country that they were born in, where they were educated and brought up, with its culture ingrained so deep, that you cannot shake it off however hard one may try.

For many middle-class Indians, seeking a green card is a dream and once they achieve that, there is no looking back. The Indian middle class, after all, is known for not participating enthusiastically in elections. Sometimes they have also been called as the 'RNIs' or 'Resident Non Indians' for living in gated communities and being cut off from the realities of the real India.

Residents in India feel that giving NRIs the option to stand for elections would make politics even more driven by money power and democracy more elitist. It is questionable whether NRIs understand the nitty gritty of day-to-day politics and how will they really involve them in development in India.

"India does not expect money from its sons who have settled abroad. It expects that they come and stay here for a while and guide locals and contribute to development by sparing their knowledge, time and experience." Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said.

Reader's comments (11)

1: It is OK. Will the NRIs when contested win? Many a time the SONS OF THE SOIL plays a crucial role in elections besides wine and wealth?

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Posted by: Dr.A.Jagadeesh - 04 Feb, 2011

Will electric car reign in Indian roads?

ByBinu Paul, SiliconIndia

Saturday, 05 February 2011, 06:24 IST

Bangalore: Although still in the nascent stage, the electric car market sees a boom in the coming years as the car makers have realized that in an era of alternate fuels, this will most likely influence the future in a big way. The concept of electric vehicles has proven to be a strong business model with great commercial potential that applies smart technology. A Freedonia Group research estimated that global sales of alternative fuel vehicles would be over 1.6 million units and $39 billion by 2009, which has further gone up by now.

Going by the experts' estimates, India will see a five-fold growth in population in the urban areas that will further worsen the problem of air and noise pollutions - a condition that can only be addressed by the electric vehicles that are free of pollution with low running and maintenance costs and easy to handle. The demand now is very small. The estimates suggest that less than five per cent of the passenger car market in India would comprise electric cars over the next five-seven years.

But as stated above, there is going to be a revolution in the electric car market in a few years time as globally the demand for electronic cars is increasing day-by-day and this trend will take over India very soon. It should be noted that Suzuki Motor Corporation has an electric van called Every+ and a plug-in hybrid version of Swift, there is i10 Electric from Hyundai and Indica electric from Tata Motors who also plans on Indica Vista electric. The Chevrolet Volt from General motors and the Fluence, Kangoo, Twizy, and Zoe being jointly developed by Renault and Nissan are some of the most expected electronic cars. While the electric version of the Tata Nano, Chevrolet E-Spark, Reva NXR and NXG have already hit the Indian market, many biggies like Renault, Ford Motors, and Nissan are coming to India with their electronic cars very soon.

The automonitor estimates that if we can have three lakh Electric Vehicles on the roads by 2020, including three-wheelers, cars, and scooters, this could result in a reduction of over 16 lakh metric tons of CO, NOx & HC by 2020, savings of over 3700 crores in foreign exchange and significant health costs savings. But he opined that it won't be before 5 to 10 years that the viability of commercial use of electric buses, three wheelers and scooters can be made practical.

The underpowered performance, heavy weight of batteries, poor driving range per charge of the batteries, less availability of spare parts and qualified mechanics and high prices are some of the main reasons why the electronic cars failed to make a definite market in India.

The market potential for electric cars in India is very high owing to many factors such as a very well established auto component infrastructure, mechanical hardware availability, low manufacturing costs, low research and development costs, presence of a large domestic market and high urban population. The government should promote the concept of electronic vehicles in India through proper awareness campaigns and should reduce the high custom duty which stops the foreign electronic cars at the border. The Indian technology schools should also take adequate initiatives to create innovative technologies for further developing the concept.

Reader's comments (3)

These days a lot of interest is there in Electric Cars and Solar Cars in USA and other developed countries.

Electric cars are the wave of the future, but they’re not without their troubles.

Electric cars primarily differ from cars with internal combustion engines in that they have a simple motor to turn the wheels of the car and provide for the car’s systems, utilizing advanced, heavy battery technology. While they have their disadvantages over internal combustion cars and have been traditionally rejected by automakers and the public, they are rapidly gaining acceptance in the modern economy.

The Electric Revolution

Traditionally, electric cars were custom-made for hobbyists and racers, but now several organizations sell converter kits and custom-built car models. Additionally, automakers are rapidly adapting hybrid technology and some are actually developing their own pure electric car models.

While electric cars reduce an individual’s carbon footprint and power consumption, they can also greatly increase overall power consumption and are actually less efficient in places without an efficient power grid. Electric cars do not generate any pollutants, but power grids do generate pollutants, depending on how the electrical power is generated. However, non-coal sources are much cleaner and safer for the environment in the long run. In a location with an efficient power grid, an electric car is far more economical than cars with other types of engines, both in terms of cost-per-usage and in terms of maintenance.

Since they is a wholesale replacement for gasoline-powered vehicles, battery-powered vehicles can appeal to anyone who has a use for transportation, but especially appeals to those who make a shorter commute and wish to make a positive impact on the environment. Hobbyists, environmentalists and racing enthusiasts are usually those considered most interested in the development and dissemination of electric cars

As far asElectric cars in India are concerned though there are efforts to popularize them, the trouble is good roads in many cases. Also there were efforts to popularize Electric Bikes which were a failure.

Solar cars combine technology typically used in the aerospace, bicycle, alternative energy and automotive industries. The design of a solar vehicle is severely limited by the amount of energy input into the car. Most solar cars have been built for the purpose of solar car races. Exceptions include solar-powered cars and utility vehicles.

Solar cars are often fitted with gauges as seen in conventional cars. In order to keep the car running smoothly, the driver must keep an eye on these gauges to spot possible problems. Cars without gauges almost always feature wireless telemetry, which allows the driver's team to monitor the car's energy consumption, solar energy capture and other parameters and free the driver to concentrate on driving.

Solar cars depend on PV cells to convert sunlight into electricity. In fact, 51% of sunlight actually enters the Earth's atmosphere. Unlike solar thermal energy which converts solar energy to heat for either household purposes, industrial purposes or to be converted to electricity, PV cells directly convert sunlight into electricity. When sunlight (photons) strike PV cells, they excite electrons and allow them to flow, creating an electrical current. PV cells are made of semiconductor materials such as silicon and alloys of indium, gallium and nitrogen. Silicon is the most common material used and has an efficiency rate of 15-20%. Of late, several consulting companies, such as Phoenix Snider Power, have started offering technical and financial services to institutes and teams developing solar cars worldwide.

The primary reason why a practical direct solar car hasn't been invented yet is loss of efficiency in the cells themselves. The current State of the Art advanced solar cells convert >30% of the energy they receive into electricity to drive the wheels. This means that for the same performance, you need twice more collecting area, or conversely, a third as much total vehicle weight. This limits solar cars to a single seat, with no cargo capacity, and space age composite bodies to save weight. This, in turn, limits cars to solar challenge racers for demonstration, because the only ones who can afford them are teams with college, or corporate funding. Until we have more efficient collectors, they will not be practical, or affordable daily drivers.

The World Solar Challenge features a field of competitors from around the world who race to cross the Australian continent, over a distance of 3000 km. Speeds of the vehicles have steadily increased. So, for example, the high speeds of 2005 race participants led to the rules being changed for solar cars starting in the 2007 race.

The North American Solar Challenge, previously known as the 'American Solar Challenge' and 'Sunrayce USA', features mostly collegiate teams racing in timed intervals in the United States and Canada. This race also changed rules for the most recent race due to teams reaching the regulated speed limits. The most recent North American Solar Challenge ran from June 20–26, 2010, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to Naperville, Illinois. The next race is expected to be run in the summer of 2012. You can see video of how University of Minnesota students built Centaurus I, one of the cars participating in the solar car challenge.

The Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge is an annual solar-powered car race for high school students. The event attracts teams from around the world, but mostly from American high schools. The race was first held in 1995. Each event is the end product of a two-year education cycle launched by the Winston Solar Car Team. In odd-numbered years, the race is a road course that starts at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas; the end of the course varies from year to year. In even-numbered years, the race is a track race around the Texas Motor Speedway. Dell has sponsored the event since 2002.

The South African Solar Challenge is an epic, bi-annual, two-week race of solar-powered cars through the length and breadth of South Africa. Teams will have to build their own cars, design their own engineering systems and race those same machines through the most demanding terrain that solar cars have ever seen. The 2008 race proved that this event can attract the interest of the public, and that it has the necessary international backing from the FIA. Late in September, all entrants will take off from Pretoria and make their way to Cape Town via the N1, then drive along the coast to Durban, before climbing the escarpment on their way back to the finish line in Pretoria 10 days later. In 2008 the event was endorsed by International Solarcar Federation (ISF), Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) making it the first Solar Race to receive endorsement from these 3 organizations.

Speed record

Guinness world records recognize a land speed record for vehicles powered only by solar panels. This record is currently held by the University of New South Wales with the car Sunswift IV. The record of 88.8 km/h, was set on the 7th of January 2011 at the HMAS Albatross in Nowra, breaking the record previously held by The General Motors car Sunraycer of 78.3 km/h. The record takes place over a flying 500m stretch, and is the average of 2 runs in opposite directions”(Source: Wikipedia).

Washington: The Indian model of growth, based largely on local consumption and innovation and enterprise, which has unleashed the true potential of its billion plus people in the last two decades is worth emulating globally, a top Obama Administration official has said.

"The India model is really one based largely on local consumption and innovation and enterprise because of the changes and the reforms that have taken place in the Indian economy over the last ten years and twenty years, that were started by the current Prime Minister when he was finance minister in 1990," said Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake.

"India had a terrible balance of payments crisis that they faced, so they had to change and they had to move away from their own import substituting socialist model towards a much more

Reader's comments (2)

1:While Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs. Indira Gandhi laid firm foundations in Science and Technology in India, it is Shri P.V.Narasimharao who brought in liberalised economy.At a time when country's economy was sinking, Shri Rao with his CHANAKYA shrewdness brought the economy back on rails.

Yes. Development of India is worth emulating if the SCAMS are not there, corruption is checked and patriotism is imbibed in every one.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)

Bangalore: The era of hard skills is over. Now, in this highly competitive professional world, employers crave for managers with critical soft skills that are key to effective performance across all job categories. Acknowledging the importance of soft skills, some refer them as 'life skills' and researchers even call them the 'hard stuff' of management.

The transferable quality is the key differentiator between hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are domain specific and cannot be transferred, but soft skills are transferable skills which are necessary for every domain. While technical skills are necessary to impress in job interviews and to get a job, soft skills are essential to retain it. Here is our take on some of the most important business skills a person should have in professional life.

1. Interpersonal SkillsA man's success largely depends on his relationships and interactions with others. A modern day manager does not solely rely upon his position or power. It is the manager's personal power base that makes his work easy and efficient. This skill makes him to get along with others very well. It demands respect for the views and sentiments of others. This is one of the key human relations skills necessary for success at all organizational levels.

2. Communication SkillsMany feel that communication forms the corner stone of soft skills. Proper verbal and written communication is an unavoidable aspect for management. Management being the process of getting things done through others, effective communication is essential. The technological advancements should be aptly used to reach out to people to disseminate information faster. The traditional chain of command is not strictly followed in today's organizational communication process as people skip levels in the chain of command to directly get to people they need. The biggest challenge here is to keep the personal touch while using the modern techniques of communication even when the nonverbal component is missing.

3. Team WorkA team includes people of different age groups, gender, qualification, status, skills and only a coordinated effort of all can bring in success. In another scenario, those with whom you cooperate are also those with whom you compete. Agreeableness and co-operation are the key factors here. The aspect of diversity should be seen beyond demographical characteristics because in an organization you will have to coordinate with engineers, human resource managers, marketers, and will have to deal with every other functional area.

4. Professional EthicsIndia has been listening to series of stories where professional ethics have been drastically deteriorated. The modern day work culture demands high level of ethical behaviors. Employers do not wish to hire unethical people and teach them ethics. They prefer people who already possess those great qualities of ethical behaviors. As each employ is a part of the organization, the employer expects them to contribute their share to the successful functioning of the organization. It is high time that we promote employees who do the right things.5. Time and Stress ManagementTo maintain your work schedule and pace of functionality, you should have a proper time management system. Prioritizing the work and scheduling your time accordingly will help you achieve this. Important works should be taken first and allotted more time. Calmness of mind brings an excellent working condition. The physical, mental and emotional stress associated with your job should be reduced by finding proper methods of relaxation to your body and mind.

Soft skills such as self-awareness, analytical thinking, willingness to change, agility, flexibility, creativity, diplomacy, and problem-solving skills are essential for professional success. Soft skills are obviously not a replacement for hard or technical skills, but they are as essential as hard skills for organizational and personal success.

Davos: In a harsh criticism of the U.S. 'restrictive' policies, the Chairman of India-based Wipro, Azim Premji, told the gathering of global CEOs that the emerging economies are "more than fed up" of being lectured by the west to open their economies without any reciprocity.

"I think they (emerging economies) are fed up of being needled for opening their economies," Premji said at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

He particularly expressed his disappointment with the U.S. seeking more market for its goods in the developing economies, while putting restrictions on its import of services. The liberalisation of goods and services was being treated differently.

When asked whether the Asian economies are "fed up by the lecturing" by the west, the Chairman of India's third largest software exporter said, "more than fed up".

"People don't seem to equate, liberalise both products and services. If you are talking about global trade -- it is products and services. You cannot have one standards of opening up economy for emerging countries to products and contrary (for the others) particularly the U.S., which has put all sorts of restrictions on services. This cannot be one way traffic," Premji said.

The Indian IT industry, which gets $50 billion of its revenue from the global outsourcing, mainly from the US is peeved at a string of restrictions by the American authorities for service imports.

These include hiking the visa fee for professionals. On the contrary, India has given deals worth $10 billion to the U.S. which will create jobs for 50,000 Americans. Services are of key interest to India, as they provide about 55 percent of its Gross Domestic Product.

Mumbai: Padma Bhushan S. Ramadorai, Vice-President, TCS, has been appointed advisor to the Prime Minister in the Prime Minister's National Skill Development Council in the rank of cabinet minister. The Council, which is headed by the Prime Minister, seeks to develop a strategy for skill development at the national level along with variations at the state level and formulate strategies to address the skill deficit.

Is it a time when the West stop dictating its terms on emerging nations?

Commenting on his appointment, S. Ramadorai said, "I am both delighted and humbled by the opportunity to be the Advisor to the Prime Minister in the National Skill Development Council. To reap the benefits of our demographic dividend, Skill Development for employability is a critical development task for the nation. Strengthening the links between Education- employable skills- jobs is imperative both from the perspective of a young working population as well as a competitive advantage for the country."

"We are delighted that Mr. Ramadorai with his vast experience has been given this critical role of helping build skills and competency of India's growing workforce. He has always been very focused and committed about talent development and has been at the forefront of building the talent eco-system for the IT industry," said N Chandrasekaran, CEO and Managing Director, TCS. He added, "Ram's energy, passion and dedication will add great value to this national endeavor that holds the key to raising the growth rate of the country and meeting the aspirations of its citizens."

"Like Professional education, skills too must be made bankable. Technology must form an important part of the Skill Strategy not just to enhance quality of Training but also to address challenges of scale, reach and cost of training. The country has a number of large scale initiatives underway that will provide the impetus for the next level of growth. It will be my endeavor to facilitate a unified nation-wide effort towards this critical Skill Development initiative," says Ramadorai.

Ramadorai was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra and received his primary and secondary education at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from Delhi University, India, a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, and a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Reader's comments (1)

1: It is heartening to note that S. Ramadorai, Vice-President, TCS, has been appointed advisor to the Prime Minister in the Prime Minister's National Skill Development Council in the rank of cabinet minister. Hearty congratulations Shri Ramadorai for this prestigious position.S. Ramadorai was CEO of TCS from September 1996 to October 2009. Ramadorai played an integral role in the international development of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)- he took over when TCS earned a mere $400 million and had 6000 employees. His efforts have helped make TCS one of the world's largest global software and services companies with more than 143,000 consultants working in 42 countries, operating out of over 151 offices worldwide, and with revenues over US$ 6.0 billion (FY 2008-09).Beginning his career with TCS as a junior engineer, he rose through the ranks and eventually was charged with setting up TCS' operations in the United States in 1979 in New York City, which has since grown to over 40 offices throughout the country. Since taking on the role of CEO, Ramadorai focused his efforts on building relationships with large corporations and academic institutions, planning and directing technology development and acquisitions and overseeing the company's research and development activities.

He has played a pioneering role in establishing Offshore Development Centers (ODCs) in India to provide high-end solutions to major corporations including IBM, Microsoft, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Morgan Stanley, Tandem-Compaq, American Express, Merrill Lynch, Capital Bank, Target Corporation, Citibank, Qwest, Lucent Technologies, Ericsson and Nortel.

Under his leadership TCS set up Technology Excellence Centers in India that have acquired knowledge, expertise and equipment in specialized technology areas like IBM, Oracle Corporation, SAP, AS400, DEC, HP, Microsoft, Silicon Graphics, Sun and Tandem. Recently, he led TCS in forging new partnerships and alliances with the American International Group of Companies, Citibank, Microsoft, Oracle and Keylabs, and widening existing relationships with Capital Bank (Bank of Scotland Group), Prudential Insurance Company of America, Hewlett Packard and Unigraphics Solutions Inc.

Ramadorai spearheaded TCS' quality initiatives, taking sixteen of its Development Centers to SEI's CMM Level 5, the highest and most prestigious performance assessment issued by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). TCS also attained the distinction of being the World's first company to have all Centres assessed as operating at Level 5 of PCMM (People-CMM).

Ramadorai is the Chairman of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), TATA Technologies Limited, Chairman of CMC Ltd, and Chairman of TATA Elxsi (India) Ltd. He is also the chairman of Computational Research Laboratories Ltd. He is also on the Board of Directors of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Nicholas Piramal India Ltd, TATA Limited (India), TATA Infotech Limited (India), TATA Internet Services Limited, Nelito Systems Limited, and several other companies.

Ramadorai is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Member of the National Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), President of the Indo-American Society, Member of the Corporate Advisory Board, Marshall School of Business (USC), and is also on the Advisory and Governing Boards of a number of reputed Indian academic institutions.

Ramadorai continues to maintain strong links with the world of academia. He is a member of the Corporate Advisory Board, Marshall School of Business (USC) as well as other Boards of reputed Indian academic institutions. Among his other distinctions, Ramadorai is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and of the Indian National Academy of Engineering.

In 2006, on India's Republic Day, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour. In 2004, he won Business India's "Business Man of the Year" award. During 2003, Ramadorai received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indore Management Association, the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and a Fellowship of the Institute of Management Consultants of India. He has also been honoured with CNBC Asia Pacific's prestigious 'Asia Business Leader of the Year' Award in 2002, as well as the 'Management Man of the Year' award by the Bombay Management Association. He was named in June 2002, by Consulting Magazine (USA) as being among the Top 25 Most Influential Consultants in the world, the only Indian CEO on the list. He has been honoured with the position of 'IT Advisor to Qingdao City', People's Republic of China. Silicon.com has named him as an agenda setter (position 22) in 2006.

On 28 April 2009, Ramadorai was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)(Source: Wikipedia).Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)

New Delhi: Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises, said it has received $5 million funding by search engine giant Google to support its Satya Bharti schools.

"Google will provide financial support of $5 million to upgrade and support 50 Satya Bharti elementary schools, run by the Bharti Foundation," Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Bharti Mittal told reporters here.

These schools, present in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, will now be named Satya Elementary schools, he added."Globally, Google donates about $150 million every year to support various initiatives on education, healthcare, etc. This is our first such initiative in India and we hope to continue the good work," Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora said.

Bharti Foundation provides education to underprivileged children in rural areas.

Reader's comments (1)

1:Google financial support for rural schools through Satya Bharti schools run by Bharti Foundation is laudable. In fact rural school education is in a poor state. Will Private Industrial Giants support rural schools?Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)

Bangalore: Indian students in the Tri-Valley University, U.S. are forcibly made to wear radio collars around the ankles that keeps a tab on their movements. Is the move by the U.S. authorities justified?

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna strongly condemned the reported forcible wearing of radio collars around the ankles of Indian students in the Tri-Valley University in U.S. and demanded severe action against those responsible for the "inhuman act".

"We demand the U.S. government initiate severe action against those officials responsible for this inhuman act.

Indian students are not criminals. The radio collars should immediately be removed," he told reporters here.

"The Ministry will extend all help to the students.

"The parents need not worry since the matter has been taken up with appropriate authorities," he said.

The government would also provide suitable assistance to the affected students if they wished to return to India, he said.

Reader's comments (78)

1: It is unfortunate in a civil society. First of all many Universities(abroad especially in US) get students from China and India. Some of these Universities thrive because of Indian and Chinese students. Having admitted the students the Univerity should ensure whether they have proper immigration status or not.

I personally know many students who go to average universities abroad(especially in US,UK,Australia etc.) just for status symbol and some go to any extent of getting admission and continuing their studies by all means. Infact Indian Universities and Educational Institutions have good standards these days and offer number of opportunities in higher education.

So dear students why go to mediocre universities abroad by spending huge amounts while you can carryout studies in India itself if you are qualified.

In many cases standards of some of these universities abroad are far below to those of Institutes in India like IITs,NITs,leading Universities and Higher Education Institutes.

Bangalore: The numbers of DRDO's (Defence Research and Development Organization) top level scientists are decreasing at an alarming rate. With 20 top scientists resigning from the Organization in last six months, DRDO is now looking up to the ways for retaining its employees.

Top scientists are now going for better career opportunities. With the IT sector boom, the Companies are in hiring spree. The scientists, especially from the field of computer science, electronics and communication are being hired by the private sector extensively. Good salary packages, facilities and employees centric policies are attracting more and more scientists to the IT Companies.

DRDO is now looking for new and more effective HR policies in order to retain its good scientists. According to Vijaykumar Saraswath, scientific adviser to defence minister A K Antony the policies have been taken care of.

Speaking on the issue, Saraswath told that he has signed 20 resignation letters in just six months. He said, "We are losing scientists from our labs and IT sector is picking them up. There were no such en masse resignations in the last two years."

NRI science graduates are showing immense interest in working with DRDO which presents a positive picture. Along with them, youngsters from Indian universities are also keen on working with the Organization. Keeping in mind the growing interest, DRDO is likely to recruit youngsters, according to Saraswath.There has been a similar situation in 2008 too. Defence minister A.K Antony guaranteed incentives like providing scientist with career enhancement opportunities to decrease the attrition rate. The situation arose when 285 scientists resigned in a period of 3 years.

Bangalore: The business leaders of tomorrow in the making at the Harvard Business School are turning their focus on the Indian stories for their case studies. Many Indian stories have been inducted by the school to educate its students on leadership values and responsibilities. Some of the important case studies adopted by the Harvard Business School are detailed below.

Brave staff of Taj during 26/11

The heroic actions by the employees of the Taj Hotel at the hours of high tension and trauma during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks have been chosen as a case study at the Harvard Business School. It focuses on the staff's selfless service for its customers and how they went beyond their call of duty to save lives. Trying to save the lives of guests at the hotel, a dozen Taj employees had lost their lives during the attacks.

The case study titled 'Terror at the Taj Bombay: Customer-Centric Leadership' by HBS professor Rohit Deshpande presents "the bravery and resourcefulness shown by rank-and-file employees" during the attack. The focus is mainly on "why did the Taj employees stay at their posts (during the attacks), jeopardizing their safety in order to save hotel guests" and how can that level of loyalty and dedication be replicated elsewhere.

The action, which Deshmande explained as unexplainable by even the senior managers, has been so surprising that the employees knew the back exists where they could easily escape but chose to stay back to help the guests.

The study is an attempt to showcase how leadership is displayed by people at the bottom rank to the top in an organizational ladder that helped in saving lives. The history of Taj, its employee recruitment and training strategies, the Indian culture of 'Gust is God' and how Taj would recover, are also a focus of the study.

FabindiaJohn Bissell, a true visionary from the United States, discovered the scope for a village-based industry in India with an abundance of skills hidden from the world. Determined to exhibit the Indian handloom textiles with an aim to provide equitable employment to traditional artisans, Bissell established Fabindia in 1960. Today the enterprise, managed by his son William Bissell, has over 135 stores across India and abroad and in 2008, Fabindia has been valued at $65 million.

A brand that does not advertise has been selected as a case study by the prestigious Harvard Business School for its inspiring lessons of sustainable employment and strong mission. It was founded on the thought that there is a need for a vehicle for marketing the vast and diverse craft traditions of India and thereby help fulfill the need to provide and sustain employment.

What marked its success is that the company started as an export house has managed to change itself to a successful retail business. Fabindia presents Indian textiles in a variety of natural fibers, and home products including furniture, stationery, lights and lamps, home accessories, pottery and cutlery. Supporting the rural market, Fabindia sources its products from over 15000 craft persons and artisans across India.

Dabbawalas of MumbaiHarvard Business School has produced a case study on the exciting story of the four thousand five hundred semi-literate dabbawalas collecting and delivering over 175,000 food packages within hours with an error free record. The business school urges its students to learn from the organization, which relies entirely on human endeavor and doesn't employ any technology.

This unique, simple and highly efficient 120-year-old logistics system seems to have a lot of lessons for the bright minds at the Harvard Business School. Conducting an analysis, Forbes Global magazine gave the Dabbawalas a Six Sigma rating of 99.999999 percent of efficiency in 1988 where they made only one error in six million transactions.

Bangalore: The business leaders of tomorrow in the making at the Harvard Business School are turning their focus on the Indian stories for their case studies. Many Indian stories have been inducted by the school to educate its students on leadership values and responsibilities. Some of the important case studies adopted by the Harvard Business School are detailed below.

Brave staff of Taj during 26/11

The heroic actions by the employees of the Taj Hotel at the hours of high tension and trauma during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks have been chosen as a case study at the Harvard Business School. It focuses on the staff's selfless service for its customers and how they went beyond their call of duty to save lives. Trying to save the lives of guests at the hotel, a dozen Taj employees had lost their lives during the attacks.

The case study titled 'Terror at the Taj Bombay: Customer-Centric Leadership' by HBS professor Rohit Deshpande presents "the bravery and resourcefulness shown by rank-and-file employees" during the attack. The focus is mainly on "why did the Taj employees stay at their posts (during the attacks), jeopardizing their safety in order to save hotel guests" and how can that level of loyalty and dedication be replicated elsewhere.

The action, which Deshmande explained as unexplainable by even the senior managers, has been so surprising that the employees knew the back exists where they could easily escape but chose to stay back to help the guests.

The study is an attempt to showcase how leadership is displayed by people at the bottom rank to the top in an organizational ladder that helped in saving lives. The history of Taj, its employee recruitment and training strategies, the Indian culture of 'Gust is God' and how Taj would recover, are also a focus of the study.

FabindiaJohn Bissell, a true visionary from the United States, discovered the scope for a village-based industry in India with an abundance of skills hidden from the world. Determined to exhibit the Indian handloom textiles with an aim to provide equitable employment to traditional artisans, Bissell established Fabindia in 1960. Today the enterprise, managed by his son William Bissell, has over 135 stores across India and abroad and in 2008, Fabindia has been valued at $65 million.

A brand that does not advertise has been selected as a case study by the prestigious Harvard Business School for its inspiring lessons of sustainable employment and strong mission. It was founded on the thought that there is a need for a vehicle for marketing the vast and diverse craft traditions of India and thereby help fulfill the need to provide and sustain employment.

What marked its success is that the company started as an export house has managed to change itself to a successful retail business. Fabindia presents Indian textiles in a variety of natural fibers, and home products including furniture, stationery, lights and lamps, home accessories, pottery and cutlery. Supporting the rural market, Fabindia sources its products from over 15000 craft persons and artisans across India.

Dabbawalas of MumbaiHarvard Business School has produced a case study on the exciting story of the four thousand five hundred semi-literate dabbawalas collecting and delivering over 175,000 food packages within hours with an error free record. The business school urges its students to learn from the organization, which relies entirely on human endeavor and doesn't employ any technology.

This unique, simple and highly efficient 120-year-old logistics system seems to have a lot of lessons for the bright minds at the Harvard Business School. Conducting an analysis, Forbes Global magazine gave the Dabbawalas a Six Sigma rating of 99.999999 percent of efficiency in 1988 where they made only one error in six million transactions.

Reader's comments (4)

1: It is not new. Wayback in 70s One student from Harvard did his project work under Prof.Y.Nayudamma in Chennai.

Innovate to face India, China challenge: Obama

ByIANS

Wednesday, 26 January 2011, 19:54 Hrs

Washington: Citing once again the growing challenge from emerging powers like India and China, U.S. President Barack Obama asked Americans to unleash their creative spirits and innovate to "win the future" in a rapidly shifting global economy.

"That world has changed. And for many, the change has been painful," he said in a State of the Union address Tuesday to a joint sitting of the US Congress less than three months after his Democratic party's defeat in the midterm elections.

"The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business," Obama said.

"Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there's an internet connection."

"Meanwhile, nations like China and India realised that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science."

"So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn't discourage us. It should challenge us," he said describing it as "our generation's Sputnik moment" - a reference to the 1950s space race against the Soviet Union after its launch of the first artificial satellite.

"To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 - because the more we export, the more jobs we create at home," Obama said.

"Already, our exports are up," he said noting the US recently "signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the United States."

Turning to foreign policy issues, Obama again cited "new partnerships with nations like India" to show "how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity."

"We have reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, and built new partnerships with nations like India."

In Pakistan, Al Qaeda's leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001, Obama said suggesting, "Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe-havens are shrinking."

At home, acing steep budget deficits, Obama proposed a five-year freeze in most discretionary spending and tens of billions of dollars in defence cuts even as the country fights two wars.

He also touched on immigration, saying it is time to allow students who are in the country illegally to remain.

"Let's stop expelling talented, responsible young people who can be staffing our research labs, starting new businesses, who could be further enriching this nation," he said

Reader's comments (1)

1: Creativity, Invention and Innovation are the pillars of development and prosperity of the countries. I agree with you President . In act USA is a country where Innovation in every field flourishes.

Here is an excellent analysis on Innovation in Different countries.

“InnovationThe results for this year’s rankings for the 131 countries covered by the Innovation Capacity Index are presented in Table.

To highlight the type of analysis which is made possiblethrough the Innovation Capacity Index, we now discussthis year’s results for Korea, Brazil, China, Israel, and Spain.These countries are interesting for a variety of reasons: Korea, because it has a top-10 rank and, like Sweden last year, provides an impressive benchmark against which to assess other countries’ performance. Korea’s rapid transformation from a low-income, largely agricultural economy in the early 1960s to a high-technology power four decades later is an impressive achievement, highlighting the extent to which sound, outward-oriented, policies can contribute not only to the development of a remarkable level of innovation capacity, but also to high levels of income per capita. Despite being a rising emerging market power, Brazil faces a number of challenges which must be addressed before it can fulfill its innovation potential. Much progress needs to be made in improving the efficiency of spending” vast resources are allocated to financing the pensions of public workers, while not enough is spent in providing better educational opportunities to its young population and investing in research and development. the country suffers from an ingrained culture of heavy bureaucracy and red tape and, consequently, has some of the worst rankings in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report. China has dazzled the world with its quick ascent to the position of the world’s second largest economy. Its ability to pull hundreds of millions of people out of poverty is surely an importantachievement. But the country is still saddled with adi/cult business environment, by mediocre human capitalindicators and relatively low rates of penetration for the latest technologies, all of which are constraining its innovation capacity. Israel, like Korea, is a major player in the high-technology markets. Heavy investment in education and the judicious use of investment incentives and other active public policies to encourage innovation are worthy of examination for the lessons they other other countries aspiring to establish a footprint in the ICT world. Finally Spain, a rich industrial country with well-developed institutions and infrastructure, has an ICI ranking that is mediocre for its stage of development.A dysfunctional labor market with perverse incentives and an unreformed establishment for higher education are significant drags on Spanish innovation capacity”. (Source: The Innovation Development Report 2010 – 2011, Policies and Institutions Underpinning Country Innovation: Results from the Innovation Capacity Index Augusto López-Claros, EFD-Global Consulting Network Yasmina N. Mata, Consultant).Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

U.S. university shutdown: India seeks report on students

ByPTI

Thursday, 27 January 2011, 10:37 Hrs

New Delhi: India has sought a report from its missions in the U.S. into the reports of several Indian students being affected after a California-based university was shut down by authorities on charges of illegal immigration.

"We have asked for a report from our embassy and from our consulate general and when a report is issued, we will be taking it up with the government of the U.S.," external affairs minister S M Krishna told reporters here on Thursday.

He said, meanwhile, the missions have been instructed that the welfare of the students will have to be looked into by them.

However, the minister said it was "strange" that the affected students have not approached the Indian consulate so far.

Duped by the authorities of Tri-Valley University, which has now been shut down, hundreds of Indian students, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, faced the threat of being deported back home after having lost their student visa status.

"Any activity involving visa fraud would obviously be of great concern to us. The investigation of that is done by law enforcement, obviously with our cooperation, since we are the ones who issue visas," state department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters at his daily news conference in Washington.

According to a federal complaint filed in a California court last week, the university helped foreign nationals illegally acquire immigration status.

The university is said to have 1,555 students, of which 95 percent are Indian nationals, the complaint said.

Reader's comments (1)

1: In many universities in USA and UK the students strength is more from India and China. Unlike in India the Universities abroad have thousands of students. As such it is moral responsibility of the Universities to follow rules. Admitting the students first with out proper justification and asking them to later is not fair.

Washington: Hundreds of Indian students , mostly from Andhra Pradesh , face the prospect of deportation from the US after authorities raided and shut down a university in the Silicon Valley on charges of a massive immigration fraud.

The Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton, a major suburb in San Francisco Bay Area, has been charged by federal investigating authorities with being part of an effort to defraud, misuse visa permits and indulge in money laundering and other crimes.

According to a federal complaint filed in a California court, the University, which was raided and shut down last week, helped foreign nationals illegally acquire immigration status.

The university is said to have 1,555 students. As many as 95 per cent of these students are Indian nationals, the complaint said.

Investigations by Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) found that while students were admitted to various residential and online courses of the university and on paper lived in California, in reality they "illegally" worked in various parts of the country as far as Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

ICE has called it as a "sham university." The ICE investigations found that more than half of these students were reported to be residing in a single apartment located in Sunnyvale California.

During the course of the investigation ICE found that the university gave the residential address of its students in order to conceal that they did not live in California, said the court papers.

For a student to maintain an active immigration status, they must show proof that they are making reasonable process towards completing coursework and physically attend classes.

Federal investigating authorities are now sweeping out on each of those students, who paid lakhs for obtaining students visa and also students work permit.

Several of them have been interrogated, creating a panic reaction among the Indian student community.

Many of the students from Andhra Pradesh, who were planning to join the university for the new semester, have cancelled their US travel plans.

Classes were scheduled to start on January 10 after the winter break.

It is understood that many of these students are planning to leave the country as soon as possible as they are being interrogated.

There are unconfirmed reports of some of the students being detained and deportation process has been started against them.

Once the university has been shut down, the students who come on F-1 visa, lose their status within a stipulated time. These students have been making desperate calls to Indian- American immigration attorneys.

"We have received verification that ICE has detained some of the students and placed them in removal proceedings," Murthy Law Firm, a popular immigration attorney firm among Indian-Americans, said in a posting on its website.

On January 20, 2011 the Murthy Law Firm received numerous phone calls from students registered at Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton, California, it said in its posting.

"Some of the F-1 Tri-Valley students may have options to try to change status in the United States. Some are potentially eligible to request a change to H-4 or other dependant statuses.

"Others might be eligible for H1B status through employers, but may not have enough time to file for the soon-to-be reached FY 2011 H1B cap. Those who have previously held H1B status and do not need cap numbers would not face this problem," advised the Murthy Law Firm.

Tri-Valley University, on its website, says that it is a Christian Higher Education Institution aiming to offer rigorous and excellent quality academic programmes in the context of Christian faith and world view. It offers a wide range of courses.

Reader's comments (2)

1: It is sad news. Why should Indian students especially from Andhra Pradesh study in Countries like USA and UK without proper immigration?

There are many opportunities to study in India with grace.

The craze for foreign studies without proper immigration should end.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP), India

New Delhi: Wipro chairman Azim Premji led the list of this year's awardees named for the government's civilian "Padma" honours, among the representatives of trade and industry here Tuesday.

Premji, who has also made a mark in philanthropy, was named for the second highest Padma Vibushan award.

In the list of 128 awardees for Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri announced by the home ministry, members of trade and industry were represented in equal measure, accounting for some dozen honours.

Leather major Fareeda Group's Mecca Rafeeque Ahmed, pharma major Orchid Group's Kailasam Raghavendra Rao and leading Singapore-based investor and prominent member of the Indian diaspora Satpal Khattar were named for Padma Shri awards.

"The awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan sometime around March or April," an official communique said.

The awards are given in all disciplines and fields of activities, including arts, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service.

Reader's comments (1)

Congratulations Shri Azim Premji for your selection to the second highest country’s award. You richly deserve this prestigious award for your outstanding contributios to Industry in general and IT in particular.

New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said $462 billion to $1.4 trillion in black money is estimated to have been stashed abroad by Indians and all steps were being taken to bring it back. But the names of the perpetrators can't be revealed yet.

Unless legal provisions are in place in other countries, the two pacts India has been inking to track black money -- double tax avoidance treaties and information exchange agreements -- cannot help in revealing the names of perpetrators, Mukherjee said.

"We have nothing to hide. But there are legal provisions," the finance minister told a press conference here, which was called at the behest of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clarify the government's position on black money.

"Information we have received from other countries is on condition of secrecy. Today, if I divulge the secrecy (the names), thereafter tomorrow the other countries will not give us information. They will raise accusing fingers against us," he said.

"I also have no authority of knowing the names. Our income tax officers discharge their functions under the act," he said, adding the government will come to know of the names as and when the tax department starts prosecution proceedings in courts.

Nonetheless, the finance minister said the government had set up a multi-disciplinary group to estimate the actual quantum of black money abroad and the way forward. "They have been asked to expeditiously give their report."

The clarification was given by the finance minister on steps being taken by the Indian government to bring back this ill-gotten money and to prevent the outflows of illegal money from the country's shores in the future.

The Supreme Court had last week queried why the government cannot name those involved in this national plunder, based on a petition by noted lawyer Ram Jethamalani which had led to a discussion by the cabinet presided over by the prime minister.

The apex court's remarks came after Jethamalani wanted it to issue directions to the government to bring back such ill-gotten money, which he estimated at a whopping $1.5 trillion, or nearly one-and-half times India's gross domestic product.

"It is not a case of tax. The issue involved is of serious nature. Keep aside all the things. Let us consider the persons named," said the apex court bench of Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy and Justice S.S. Nijjar.

But Mukherjee said the situation had tied down the government's hands as it required the cooperation of other countries and jurisdictions as well.

"The responsibility of the government is not to indulge in any rhetoric but to find out the facts. The government has to function on basis of the facts," the finance minister said, when asked to respond to the apex court's remarks.

"The entire issue of black money became a matter of debate at the international fora at the G20 finance minister's conference in 2009. At G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, the leaders emphasised on it and after that various countries started cooperating," Mukherjee said.

The finance minister said an earlier report on black money abroad had estimated it at anywhere between $500 billion and $1,400 billion. Thereafter another recent study had projected black money at $462 billion.

"These are, at best, estimates," he said, adding the government had broadened its talks to 65 countries for exchange of information on banking transactions as also on the tax payers not covered by existing double taxation agreements to prevent illegal outflows.

Kolkata: IT firm Cogizant Technology Solutions (CTS) is set to engage at least 25,000 new employees in 2011, while focusing more within the country in tune with its strategy to expand operations in developing economies, a top company official said.

"The company, which had a mandate of growing at 38.8 percent last year, performed well in the last two quarters," CTS president and managing director (global delivery) R. Chandrashekaran told reporters after the inauguration of its second campus in Bantala SEZ complex in the eastern part of the city.

"Most of our campus recruitment process is over. So we are definitely looking towards a very healthy number of people. It will be at least as good as last year when 25,000 new people were recruited," said Chandrashekaran.

He said the performance of the company's Indian operations during the last couple of quarters has been good and there is a healthy demand.

"We are making a lot of investments in newer markets. Europe is growing. We are focusing on emerging markets like India, Middle East, Japan, Australia and ASEAN countries."

While not commenting on India's share in the company's global turnover, he said: "We are seeing healthy pick up in the global market. Given the potential the countries have, we are hopeful of growing faster in emerging geographies."

The company will, meanwhile, continue to make new investments in newer geographies including India.

"It had earmarked an investment of $180 million for Indian operations which has almost been utilised. We have not finalised about investments for 2011," Chandrashekaran said.

The second campus of the CTS spread over 20 acres land, will be developed in three phases. The first phase of the facility, a LEED-certified green building, has a capacity to accommodate over 4,000 professionals.

The company has invested around 200 crore for the construction of the first phase. After the completion of the project, the Bantala campus will accommodate around 16,000 professionals.

Reader's comments (32)

1: It is heartening to note that Multinational IT firm Cogizant Technology Solutions (CTS) is set to engage at least 25,000 new employees in 2011,Already Indian IT Giants TCS,Infosys,HCL,WIPRO etc., are on recruitment spree.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Kolkata: Picking up after being adversely hit by the global slowdown, India's IT sector is performing well and would experience an annual growth of 25-26 percent, Infosys Technologies founder-chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy said here Sunday.

"Under the current circumstances, it is performing well," Narayana Murthy told mediapersons on the sidelines of a function here.

"Overall, things are fine. Our annualised growth will be 25-26 percent, and that is pretty good," he said.

"The sector draws a revenue of $5 billion, and if we can grow at 25 percent, that's not bad," he said.

Asked for his reaction on U.S. President Barack Obama's remark "Say no to Bangalore and yes to Buffalo", Murthy said the comments were symbolic of the foreign community's growing respect for Indian industry.

"When the U.S. president talks about Bangalore, that means there is certain respect," he said.

Thiruvananthapuram: Indian IT sector seems to have come back to its record-breaking hiring days, with top industry player Infosys projecting up to 1.8 lakh employees being hired by the five largest companies alone this year.

"Growth is back and most companies are hiring in large numbers again. The top five companies are estimated to hire 1,60,000 to 1,80,000 new employees in the next 12 months," Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said here.

Such large-scale hiring activities were last witnessed in 2007 by Indian IT companies, after which they had to cut back on hiring and even prune their existing headcount to cope up with the economic slowdown.

"In 2008, the industry saw growth coming down to single digit. Most IT companies stopped hiring employees and stopped expanding," Gopalakrishnan said at a discussion on 'Sustainable Development Strategies' organised by College of Architecture here.

Reader's comments (3)

1: It is a welcome sign for IT in India but will the sector sustain such large number of professionals?

Mumbai: Driven by smart December quarter earnings, IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has become the country's second largest firm in terms of market valuation, lagging behind corporate leader Reliance Industries.

TCS, which was the top gainer among the country's 10 most valuable companies in the last week, saw its valuation surging by 18,378.11 crore to 2,37,330 crore in the week.

State-run ONGC slipped to the third position after its valuation dipped by 15,763.47 crore -- the most among top 10 companies -- to 2,36,355.83 crore during the week.

Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, the country's most valuable firm, lost 4,794.78 crore in mcap in the week. Its valuation was 3,22,870.6 crore as on Friday last week.

The country's largest software firm, TCS, last week posted 29.93 percent growth in consolidated net profit at 2,369.83 crore for the October-December quarter.

Reader's comments (1)

1: It is heartening to note, “Driven by smart December quarter earnings, IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has become the country's second largest firm in terms of market valuation, lagging behind corporate leader Reliance Industries”.

New Delhi: The rural India is expected to fuel the growth in mobile phone services in the next four years, as cell phones become a vital tool for the government in its financial inclusion programme, according to global consultancy group Deloitte.

Deloitte said that low penetration levels of mobile phones would provide more business opportunities for service providers.

The paper focusses on how mobile phones can be used to deliver content and services that can help foster inclusive growth in India by digitally empowering citizens across all cross-sections of society, both urban and rural. This paper refers to these services as utility mobile value added service (MVAS).

The next wave of growth in subscriptions will come from semi-urban and rural areas.

Reader's comments (1)

1: Yes. It is rural Indians who are using Mobile Phones in large numbers.It helps them in their daily business be it agricultural produce,provisions,rural workers,rural women etc.The Indian telecommunications industry is the world's fastest growing telecommunications industry, with 742.12 Million telephone (landlines and mobile) subscribers and 706.69 Million mobile phone connections as of Oct 31st 2010 It is also the second largest telecommunication network in the world in terms of number of wireless connections after China. The Indian Mobile subscriber base has increased in size by a factor of more than one hundred since 2001 when the number of subscribers in the country was approximately 5 million to 706.69 Million by Oct 2010.

As the fastest growing telecommunications industry in the world, it is projected that India will have 1.159 billion mobile subscribers by 2013. Furthermore, projections by several leading global consultancies indicate that the total number of subscribers in India will exceed the total subscriber count in the China by 2013. The industry is expected to reach a size of 344,921 crore (US$74.85 billion) by 2012 at a growth rate of over 26 per cent, and generate employment opportunities for about 10 million people during the same period. According to analysts, the sector would create direct employment for 2.8 million people and for 7 million indirectly. In 2008-09 the overall telecom equipments revenue in India stood at 136,833 crore (US$29.69 billion) during the fiscal, as against 115,382 crore (US$25.04 billion) a year before(Source: Wikipedia).Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Positive emotions key to good health in old age

There are several ways in which a positive attitude can protect against poor health later in life.

For example, happier people might take a proactive approach to ageing by regularly exercising and budgeting time for a good night's sleep, the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science reports.

Alternately, these people may avoid unhealthy behaviours, such as smoking and risky sex, according to a Cornell University (US) statement.

The benefits of these healthy lifestyle choices may become more important in older adults as their bodies become more susceptible to diseases.

An optimistic outlook has also been shown to combat stress - a known risk factor for a lot of diseases.

Studies have found that people with stronger positive emotions have lower levels of chemicals associated with inflammation related to stress.

Anthony Ong, developmental psychologist at Cornell, who led the study, said: "We all age. It is how we age, however, that determines the quality of our lives."

Reader's comments (1)

1:For middle aged and aged people the best way to keep fit is Walking and Smiling.

Here is an interesting analysis on Smile Vs Frown:

When we make facial expressions, we're essentially transmitting a packet of information that can be received, read and interpreted by others. By contracting or expanding our facial muscles in different degrees and combinations, we can produce thousands of different messages that provide cues to our overall emotional state, our short-term feelings about our immediate environment, our mental well-being, our personality and mood, our physical health, our creditability and whether or not we view others as being creditable.

The smile -- transmitted either consciously or subconsciously -- is viewed across cultures as a sign of friendliness, especially when greeting someone. Frowns, too, are generally recognized as indicating sadness or disapproval.

There are 43 muscles in the face, most of which are controlled by the seventh cranial nerve (also known as the facial nerve). This nerve exits the cerebral cortex and emerges from your skull just in front of your ears. It then splits into five primary branches: temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular and cervical. These branches reach different areas of the face and enervate muscles that allow the face to twist and contort into a variety of expressions.

(Source:How many muscles does it take to smile?by Tom Scheve,Discovery Health).

New Delhi: The Indian Government has always disappointed people with its false hopes. Earlier in the beginning of 2009, Indian Government unveiled a $10 educational laptop which turned out to be a substandard flop receiving various negative views about it. Now it is $35 tablet's turn.

The expected launch of $35 tablet, 'Sakshat' in the mid of January by the Indian Government is now delayed due to bank security issues. HCL which was to raise a security deposit of 60 Crore and could not do it for reasons unknown. A security deposit is always demanded by the Government on any tender. The proposal was made in June last year and the tender was given to HCL. Now a report states that the tender is cancelled.

The question here is that why such a big technological company like HCL has denied raising a security deposit of 60 Crore, which it could have done very easily. Does HCL feel that $35 tablet cannot be manufactured according to the Government's specification at such a low cost?

The proposal to launch $35 tablets which would run on Android OS was quoted the cheapest compared to the earlier version of OLPC XO which was launched at $100, was aimed for educational developments of children across U.S. and other developing countries. The government had also allotted $6.5 million for the so called 'ambitious project'.

It is said that a re-advertisement for new tenders are issued already, but nothing can be found in the Government website and HCL also states that it has not been informed yet of the cancellation.There are a lot of speculations happening about the project. Earlier there were accusations regarding the product that it was not an Indian product and it is completely outsourced from China.

Another aspect that has popped up regarding the pricing of the device as India has also proposed to import a few components from Taiwan and Korea. Though the device proposed at $35, exported out of India would cost about $124. Now the final actual pricing of the tablet is yet to be quoted.

The Indian Government usually has a habit of building greater hopes and then finally shattering them to pieces. Now we have to wait and see whether the proposed $35tablet also would end up with same note as $10 educational laptop or according to a senior official "The sun will raise in 2011".

Reader's comments (1)

1: Yet another case of HIGH PROMISE AND LOW PERFORMANCE!Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)

Bangalore: Dr. Ramesh Pillai, an Indian PhD holder, has finally won a grant that is worth 6 Crore for a research project from European Research Council (ERC).

Pillai, a student of Mahatma Gandhi College, Trivandrum and IIT Roorkee completed his PhD in 2002 from the University Of Bern, Switzerland and is a Group Leader in European Molecular Biology Laboratory in France. Pillai is going to work on the mysteries of human DNA in a French lab for the next Five years.

He is said to be the 5th Indian to win this grant from ERC among the 1600 researchers across the world. The ERC has asked other scientists too, to submit their research papers and citations before recommending him for the garnt.

Pillai has said that his study would be on the understanding of how genetic information flows inside the cell and how the cell controls it. This can actually help us creating artificial molecules inside a cell.

"We know that the US is a major hub of scientists and research students. Europe is making an attempt to get a portion of that crowd to its own shores, to make the place a multinational, multi-cultural environment for research," said Dr Pillai.

Reader's comments (4)

1: Congratulations Dr. Ramesh Pillai, for getting grant of Rupees 6 Crore for a research project from European Research Council (ERC).This shows Indian Scientists are competing with others in developing countries. Of course Rupees 6 crores is not a big grant as in India itself for worthwhile projects more than that amount are available especially in Biotechnlogy,nanotechnology and other thrust areas.

New Delhi: Attendance of kids from rural areas going to school have increased enormously and number of children missing out on school has dropped to 3.5 percent from eight months of Right to Education Act.On the contrary, although 95 percent children in the age group 6-14 are enrolled in schools of rural areas even if it is for the mid-day meal but education they receive is a question mark, says a study conducted by Annual Status Of Education Report (ASER).

Rukmini Banerji, Director, ASER says, "Enrollment level is high (95 percent) but it didn't bring any change in the ability of rural kids to read or do Math. About 53 percent of class fifth students can read a class two level text and rest can even not do basic Maths. The percentage of students in one standard who can recognize digits has declined to 65 percent in 2010 from 69 percent in 2009. Only 36 percent students of fifth grade can do simple division which is a drop by 2 percent."

3 percent school showed satisfactory results when rated upon seven infrastructure parameters they require to meet under Right to Education Act. Only 53 percent of all schools surveyed across India were found compliant with the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR). Apart from union territories like Puducherry and Daman and Diu, Kerala has the highest fraction (93 percent) of schools meeting the PTR norms while Uttarakhand (18.8 percent) is at the bottom of the pile.

The chances to have a better result in the next survey are possible only when teachers actually turn up in schools. On the day of survey, 47 percent teachers were absent. To make things little better 74 percent students turned up on for the class.

Reader's comments (1)

1: Yes, it is. Today everybody especially the parents realise the importance of education and as such over a period of time 100 percent literacy is not a big task.Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore (AP)